9 posts from August 2009

08/28/2009

The Obama Administration recognizes Mayor Newsom's initiative to improve transparency and access to city data.
On the White House blog, the Administration writes: “Last week, San
Francisco launched DataSF.org. Modeled on our very own Data.gov,
DataSF.gov provides easy access to a clearinghouse of structured, raw
and machine-readable government data. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
said he hopes the city’s coders and entrepreneurs will use the data to
create new innovative services ‘never imagined within the walls of
government’”.

08/27/2009

According to a
new report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation 94% of participants
in San Francisco's health care program are at least somewhat satisfied
with it, and 92% would recommend it to a friend.

Kaiser surveyed a random sample of 1,026 participants in Healthy San
Francisco program which began in July 2007 to offer care to the city's
uninsured residents. The program costs about $120 million a year and is
funded by city funds, state grants, participants' fees and employer
contributions.

Mayor Gavin Newsom, joined last week by National AFL-CIO President John
Sweeney, urged Congress to pass health care reform with a strong public
option, touting the success of San Francisco's universal
health care system. Leaders cited "Healthy San Francisco" as an example
of how a public option can effectively cover the uninsured and create
choice and competition in the insurance market without negatively
impacting job growth.

"Even those who fight reform cannot deny that our present health care
system is broken. It is inefficient, unfair, and enormously costly,"
said Mayor Newsom. "A public plan can work. San Francisco is proving it
by driving down costs, improving access to care and creating
competition."

08/24/2009

The Labor Day weekend closure of the Bay Bridge will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3. The bridge will reopen by 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 as Caltrans completes an essential and unprecedented construction feat. During the closure, motorists are encouraged to take public transit and/or alternate driving routes. The public can find the latest information on transportation alternatives at 511.org

While the bridge is closed this year, a 300-foot-long double-deck section of the East Span will be cut and rolled out of the way, 150-feet above Yerba Buena Island (YBI). A new double-deck section will be moved into place to connect the bridge with a short detour.

Traffic will flow on the half-mile-long detour connecting the East Span to the YBI Tunnel until the new Bay Bridge opens. The traffic shift will allow crews to demolish a portion of the original bridge, and build a new (permanent) connection from the tunnel to the new East Span.

08/19/2009

DataSF is a central clearinghouse for datasets
published by the City & County of San Francisco. The site allows
you to find datasets in several ways: general search, tags/keywords,
categories, and rating. The goal is to improve access to city data
through open machine-readable formats. While the number and quality of
datasets is increasing, we recognize there is much more that we can do.
You can help by rating and commenting on existing datasets or by
telling us what datasets we should make available to the public.

08/17/2009

Hours before BART's Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 (ATU)
employees were scheduled to walk off their jobs, BART management and
the union resolved their differences on Sunday afternoon and reached a
tentative agreement for a new four-year contract. Read more